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School Sponsorship Scheme
The rescued chimps of the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Trust (CRT) live in the River
Gambia National Park in The Gambia (click the map image to the left for a more detailed
view), where they inhabit three large forested islands.
The CRT now protects and monitors a population of over sixty free-living chimpanzees,
many of them children and grandchildren of the original rescued chimps.
Eight villages are situated along the boundary of the National Park and over the
years, through conservation education programmes, community projects and through
simply being good neighbours, a strong relationship has been built up between the
villagers and the CRT.
The concept of the School Sponsorship Scheme (the Scheme) came about when Stella met
Salieu (right). Salieu was 10 years old at the time and a very bright and
determined child. He lives in Sambel Kunda with his mother who is even poorer than
the average villager as she has no husband. She could not afford to send him to
school and he spent his days herding cattle. Salieu's answer to this problem was to
find good grazing near the school so that while his cattle fed he could run and
attend some classes. When his herd took him nearer the Chimpanzee Rehabilitation
camp he would drop in and befriend the staff. He did his best to be useful around
camp and borrowed any reading material he could. Most of all he took every
opportunity to tell the staff how much he wanted to go to school. As a result of
Salieu's persistence Stella began to take a new interest in the Sambel Kunda village
school. She discovered that it cost very little to send a child to
primary school for a year. Salieu's thirst for knowledge made an impression on
Stella and she undertook to personally sponsor his education. She decided to try
and persuade others to do the same for the rest of the children in the village and
so the idea for the Scheme evolved.
There are many other children like Salieu in the neighbouring villages who are
eager to learn and being sponsored could make the difference of a lifetime to each
one. The Scheme has been established to generate funds to educate the children from
these villages. It is run under the umbrella of the CRT but all funds collected in
the name of the Scheme are held in a designated account as a Restricted Fund
which means that these funds can only be used for villager education and closely
linked aims. The Scheme is administered by Stella and Edrissa (CRT camp manager) and
a committee made up of parents from the local community.
Managing the CRT and protecting the islands is an ongoing task with no foreseeable
end. The chimps will need to be protected as long as humans pose a threat to them.
If the children of the villages surrounding the Project can be better educated they
may well go on to be people of influence in The Gambia taking with them some of the
CRT's values for conservation and protection and a measure of goodwill towards the
CRT. Education is also a vital element in the development of this very poor rural
area. If, through this Scheme, we can go some way to breaking the cycle of poverty
and at the same time provide the chimps with their best chance for the future,
through developing the concern and protection of the local community, then we
really will have achieved something worth while.
So please help us to do this by sponsoring a child today. It could be
the most rewarding and effective donation you have ever made.
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